Safety-pin.



s. M. McCONNEL L.

SAFETY PIN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5, 1912.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

ms gm SATJLUEL IE. MCCONNELL, OF 'WELLSVILLE, OHIO.

SAFETY-PIN.

Application filed September 5, 1912.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL M. MCCON- NELL, citizen of the United States, residing at lVellsville, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety- Pins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety pins and aims to provide a pin of this type which may be put to various uses for which the ordinary safety pin is not adapted.

One object in view is to provide a safety pin so constructed that it will, at all points, be free from projections and obstructions and may consequently slip freely through and be turned around in the goods through which it is inserted.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a safety pin of such form that it will not pucker the goods but which will on the other hand be so constructed that the strain upon the goods will be evenly distributed.

A further aim of the invention is to provide a safety pin so fashioned that its back and piercing bars may support the goods to be held, throughout their entire lengths, and thereby providing for engagement of the pinwith the goods at two points instead of atone as is the case in the use of the ordinary safety pin the piercing bar of which, alone, can be inserted through the goods.

The invention still further aims to provide in a safety pin, means for positively holding the point of the piercing bar against accidental disengagement from its keeper.

Further, the invention contemplates the embodiment of its principles in a pin designed particularly for use by surgeons,

physicians, and others required to carry thermometers or like instruments.

safety pin embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view partly in elevation partly in longitudinal section illus- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

Serial No. 718,735.

trating particularly the means provided for holding the point of the piercing bar of the pin against accidental disengagement from tne keeper; Fig. 3 is a detail vertical transverse sectional view on the line 8-3 of Fig. 2 illustrating one form of keeper for the point of the piercing bar; Fig. 4: is a similar view illustrating another form of keeper; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating a slight modification of the invention; Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the manner in which the pin may be applied to a piece of goods so that both its back and piercing bars will engage through the goods; Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of a slightly modified form of the pin shown in Fig. 5, this form being the one designed particularly for use for the attachment of thermometer chains, etc.

In all the forms of the invention, the pin proper is formed from a single length of resilient wire or like material, and this length of wire 'in the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 6 of the drawings is bent to form the back bar 1 of the pin and at each end of this bar is bent to an arc of a circle, forming ends of the pins, one of these ends being indicated at 2 and the other at 3. The wire, beyond the end 2, constitutes the piercing bar of the pin, and this bar is indicated at 4, it being sharpened to a point at its free end 5, this point being the entering or piercing point of the pin. It will be observed that the piercing bar 4 is nearly of the same length as-the back bar 1 and thatthe bars 1 and 4 extend in parallelism. The wire from which the pin is formed is, beyond the end 3, extended parallel to the bar 1 as indicated at 6 and in that side which is presented toward the back bar 1, is formed with a groove 7 which forms a seat for the piercing point 5 of the bar 4, this seat conforming substantially to the exterior contour of the upper side of the point, or in other words, that side which is presented away from the bar 1.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 3 of the drawings that the piercing point 5 at and immediately adjacent its point of reception in the free end of the seat in the keeper 6 has its side which is presented toward the back bar 1 touching a circle of which the exterior surface of the keeper 6 describes-anarc. As a result the pin at that side at which the piercing bar 4 is located, is as a whole, of substantially the same diameter throughout. In other words, the said side of the pin at and adjacent the section line 3-3 of Fig. 2 is circular in cross-section and of the same diameter as any other portion of the pin.

In order to securely hold the piercing point 5 of the bar 4 against accidental disengagement from its keeper 6, a locking sleeve 8 is slidably fitted upon the keeper portion 6 and bar 4 and is arranged to completely inclose the curved portion ofthe keeper and the piercing point of the bar 4, when in looking position, although it may be readily slid onto the keeper portion 6 when it is desired to disengage the piercing point from its seat. It will be understood that this sleeve 8 is to be formed with very thin walls so that the diameter of thepin'will not be appreciably increased at the point of location of the sleeve. It will also be apparent that the sleeve is to be held frictionally in place both when in locking position and when slid back upon the keeper portion 6.

In cross-section, the inner surface of the wall ofthe'groove 7 describes substantially a semi-circle as shown. in Fig. 8, but, as illustrated in Fig. 4, it may if desired have its edge portions extended farther so that the piercing point 5 may be snapped into its seat and consequentlywill be less liable to become disengaged therefrom, and while in the said Fig. 4 the locking sleeve 8 is shown as inclosing the keeper portion of the pin and the point of the piercing bar, nevertheless it may be'found desirable at times to dispense with the locking sleeve and depend upon the frictional engagement of the ex tended edge portions of the wall of the keeper to hold the piercing point of the pin sufliciently secure to prevent its accidental disengagement.

Asstated above, the ends 2 and 3 of the pin in that form of the invention shown in Figs. 1', 2 and 6 describe substantially semicircles, but in all probability the ends of the pins will be formed as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, in which those ends corresponding to the ends 2 and 3' are indicated by the reference numerals 2 and 3 respectively. In this form of the invention the ends 2 and 3 extend at right angles with respect to the parallel back and piercing bars 1 and 4. Not only does this construction increase the length of the bars 1 and 4 without increasing the length of the pin as a whole, but it provides against puckering of the goods where the pin is to be used in vertical position and the goods are to be pierced by the said end portions 2 and 3. In other words, the pin shown in the first described figures of the drawings is not as well adapted for use in a vertical position, as for example where one garment is supported from another by the engagement of the ends of the pin with the two garments, forthe-reason that the goods atcthe points pierced by the pin would ride up or down upon the concaved sides of the ends 2 or 3, as the case may be, and 'the'goods would pucker and be bunched at the middles of the said ends 2 and 3 thereby imposing all of the strain at one point in the goods. In the use of the pin shown in Fig. 5, however, there will be no such tendency for the goods to pucker and the strain upon the goods will be distributed at all points along either end of the pin.

That form of the invention shown in Fig. 7 'of the drawings is substantially identical with that shown in Fig. 5 except that one end of the pin, preferably the end 3 in Fig. 5, will be flattened as indicated at 9 and formed with an opening 10 in which maybe secured one end of a chain 11 to which may be attached a thermometer or like instrument. The manner in which the strain is equally distributed throughout the entire length of the goods engaging end of the pin shown in Figs. 5 and 7 will be apparent at once from inspection of the said Fig. 7.

From the foregoing-description ofthe invention itwill be seen that the pin herein shown and described, being free from'projections and obstructions on all sides, may

slide or work freely through .the goods through which it is inserted and. may be turned about in the goods without interference. It will therefore be apparent thatit possesses an advantage not possessed by the V ordinary safetypm, the eye or sheet metal piercing bar 4 at two points then by'turning the pin completely around and finally again inserting its piercing bar through the goods at two points opposite and adjacent tofthe first-mentioned points, after which the pin may be locked or closed. It will also be clear from an inspection of the said Fig; 6 that when the pin is so engaged it willlbe held perfectly flat against the goods and consequently should the goods constitute .a bandage or the like the pin wouldnot be liable to discomfort the wearer of the bandage or the like.

Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings indicate clearly that the locking sleeve 8 not only serves the purpose of lockingthe piercing point of the bar 4 in its seat but also serves to protect the goods held by the pin against edges of the seat in the keeper 6 are exposed to the goods.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A safety pin having a back bar, a piercing bar and ends all of the same diameter and free from projections at all points, one of the ends of the pin being provided with a seat for the entering end of the piercing bar, and a sleeve upon the said end of the pin and slidable to position to inclose the entering end of the piercing bar and its seat, the sleeve at each end being gradually tapered exteriorly whereby its outer surface at its ends will merge with the surface of the piercing bar and the said end of the pin, the wall of the sleeve being relatively thin and the sleeve between its tapered ends being eX- teriorly cylindrical and of approximately the same diameter as the piercing bar.

2. A safety pin including a back bar, a

piercing bar and ends all of the same diameter and free from projections at all points, one of the ends of the pin being channeled, and the other end of the pin being reduced and adapted to seat in the channel, whereby the joint formed by the meeting ends of the pin is of the same diameter as the back bar and piercing bar, and a sleeve slidable upon the pin, said sleeve being movable in a position to inclose the joint formed by the meeting ends of the pin, said sleeve being exteriorly tapered at each end, whereby its outer surface terminally merges with the surface of the piercing bar and end of the pin.

3. A safety pin having a back bar, a piercing bar and ends all of the same diameter and free from projections at all points, the piercing bar being normally disposed parallel with the back bar, said piercing bar, back bar and ends each being circular in cross section, one of the ends of the pin being provided with a seat opening into the space between the piercing bar and back bar and having its inner face inclined to conform to and adapted to bear against the pointed end of the piercing bar, and a sleeve upon the said end of the pin and slidable to aposition to inclose the pointed end of the piercing bar and its seat and maintain the piercing bar and back bar in spaced parallel relation to each other, the sleeve, at each end, being gradually tapered exteriorly, whereby its outer surface, at its ends, will gradually merge into the surface of the piercing bar and the said end of the pin, the Wall of the sleeve being relatively thin and the sleeve between its tapered ends being exteriorly cylindrical and of approximately the same diameter as the piercing bar.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL M. MCOONNELL. [I]. 5.] Witnesses:

WILL. C. MoCoNNELL, FRED H. EOKFELD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

